'Embarrassing' - Berwick Rangers boss Kevin Haynes delivers frank assessment after Hill of Beath loss

Berwick Rangers manager Kevin Haynes pulled no punches in his frank appraisal of the Borderers’ 2-0 defeat to Hill of Beath on Saturday afternoon, admitting that he was “embarrassed” by his side’s display at Shielfield Park.

A lacklustre Rangers fell behind on the half-hour mark as Jake Mitchell converted from the penalty spot for the visitors, and could have been two behind but for Daniel Watt missing a penalty of his own shortly after. Berwick were unable to capitalise on that stroke of good fortune, however, and their fate was ultimately sealed when Samuel Featherstone netted a second for Hill of Beath partway through the second half.

And speaking in a post-match interview, Haynes issued a damning verdict on his team’s showing. Asked for his thoughts on the contest, the Berwick boss said: “Embarrassed, disappointed, let down - every negative that you can think of. I feel every single one of the negative emotions right now. It's very unlike us. I just can't see anything positive at the end of the day.”

The result means that Berwick are still awaiting their first win of the new campaign, having rescued a late draw away at Lochee United in their season opener, and Haynes has insisted that he needs to see a drastic improvement from his players.

He continued: “Hill of Beath made it hard for us to play through them. They got into good shape, they were well worthy of their win. It took us to the 92nd minute to have a shot on target I think. That is, again, just embarrassing.

“I'm not speaking out of turn. These emotions that I'm telling you I'm experiencing right now, I've told the players this. We need to be so much better. The ability that the players possess is not enough to win a game of football. That's twice since the season started.

“The last two games, both teams have outworked us. Both teams have created better goal-scoring opportunities. Both teams were better organised. Both teams were demonstrating more leadership qualities. We've deserved nothing out of two games, and I think we're very fortunate that we've had one point.”